Monday, June 21, 2010

South Africa 2010: More than football, more than the round leather


People of Mandela, it's not over yet but it is safe to say South Africa has done itself proud, and the entire continent even prouder but being the people that we are-People of Mandela, we draw more than pride but purpose because we know that beyond this hill lies another and another.

Unfortunately, Madiba lost Zenani and was unable to be there. I hope we get a party for his 92nd birthday next month. What a fulfilled man he Madiba must be, it was Rugby to unite White and Black South Africans, now it is football to unite the World.

Indeed in South Africa, the world has come together to stand apart from the prejudice and deprivations it riddles in. We hope this unity goes beyond the turf, to create a platform for more inclusiveness and skillfulness in our global polity. We hope it sends a message that together, we can be hosts of eachother. We hope to see that South Korean spectator with the placard "We are friends for 90 minutes" in support of North Korea remove that time limit and say "We are friends". We hope it sends a message to other African Nations to take their socio-economic development needs seriously, not to say South Africa is there yet, but the country has shown sufficient potential. We hope, we hope, we hope...

Because we hope, whoever wins the tournament, the World is the Champion!